It's amazing what you can find when you take the time to look.

 Two weeks ago, Mandy, the boys and I took our usual annual excursion to the Iowa State Fair. It's a tradition for us and for me (I think I have missed 4 Fairs in 36 years).

 On our way to the Fair, we stopped at a place Mandy found called "King's Pointe" in Storm Lake, Iowa. It is an indoor/outdoor waterpark. I thought it might be mildly nice, at best and totally lame at worst.

 I could not have been more surprised.

 The place was awesome. The indoor water park was large and well maintained. The outdoor water park was something else. Multiple swimming pools to accomodate little and big swimmers, two HUGE water slides, an outdoor lazy river...all of is situated on Storm Lake itself. It's doesn't get much more picturesque.

 I did some checking and found some of the initial funding to get the project off of the ground was from "Vision Iowa", a state fund meant to help smaller communities build and maintain community projects. "King's Pointe" is turning into an economic boom for Storm Lake but it's kind of a quiet little secret.

 The place was built well. The rooms are amazing, large and spacious. If you're ever been to the "Grand Californian Resort" at Disneyland in California....the concept is the same. A lot of brick and wood with earth tone wallpaper. Quality. There is also an on-site restaurant in the hotel Ragatta Grille. Again, you find yourself having to remind yourself that is in Storm Lake. The tables are large and classy, the resturant was designed to never feel crowded, the food is delicious, the mood is relaxed and again, you can see Storm Lake itself as you eat. There's something about watching waves under sunlight while you eat that lends itself to having a good time.

 Again, I could not have been more surprised. If not for Mandy, we would not have stayed there in the first place. It's interesting to see what you'll find when you travel the backroads and stay off the interstate. Every once in a while, you find these little treasures.

 Quote Of The Day: "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything." Charles Kuralt

 This Day In History: Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum on this date, August 24th, 79 AD.

 Something You Should Check Out: Watch this quick video explaining the eruption of Vesuvius and the direct impact it had on Pompeii. Some of the town survived the volcano but all it's people were killed. WARNING: some of the video shows the preserved remains of people who died on that day.

 Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog for today. As always, feel free to leave a comment below or send me an e-mail by clicking here.

 Brian Allen KSFY